Scrappers

1936 · Nov 26, 2011

Learned from a scrapper that just one farm sale made him 8 grand. Not a bad afternoons pay day!

Before you get your shorts rapped in you spenders just look at what an item will give the owner over the scrapper price. Usually 170 a ton where it sets at your place for scrap.

IaGary · Nov 26, 2011

I'm not doubting that he made $8000 on one farm sale but I doubt he did it in one afternoon.

$8000 is a least 30 ton of iron, if he got it for free. I'm sure he payed something for the iron so it was probably closer to 50 ton he bought and delivered.That would be many loads to the scrap yard.

More like two or three days, maybe a week.

Minus his torch gas and truck gas.

What was his profit?

Gary

Fred. · Nov 26, 2011

I'll agree with Gary look at the whole picture, some people like to brag, but do'nt tell the whole story.

mark in boonville ny · Nov 26, 2011

you can make a lot more than that at my place but scrappers can just drool. they come every so ofter asking for it and i tell them no everytime. il get rid of it when the price is good and i have spare time.

BigMarv1085 · Nov 26, 2011

My nephews wifes grand father ran a dairy for years. He never sold anything but never bought anything new. He quit dairying 20 years ago and all of the equipmkent sat where it was used last. He had a case 930, Ih 806, IH 886 and all kinds of silage and farming equipment. I asked several times if he would sell anything and the response was always well someday maybe the kids will farm. Learned over the holidays that they sold all 3 tractors for 1500 combined, a 40 foot aluminum tank trailer for 400, and most of the equipment for almost nothing. They said they would sell me a 16 foot athens disc harrow (disc worn out)with one of the gangs missing for 1500, but I could have all of the old tires for nothing. I know the trailer sold for over 10000 after they cut it up into small pieces.

dixon boy RL · Nov 26, 2011

i am with Gary on this sounds like story again. My how rumors really get people worked up. why as of last week I was told I bought another jd dealership. News to me.

Nebraska Cowman · Nov 26, 2011

If I could get $170 where it sets I'd say Bring your truck. I'd guess you'd have to move 100 ton of iron to clear $8000 and that's going to be several weeks work not to mention trucking expense. Hard work.

Anonymous-0 · Nov 26, 2011

I guess it's possible, but here in the midwest the competition is so fierce at most sales it is almost impossible to buy anything. Was talking to a scrapper I know at one sale I was to, and he said they were paying more than they could get out of it. He has the weight's of the items researched and said they would be lucky to make gas money let alone any profit. But maybe that is to impress people at the auction that they pay good, and then buy from them individually on the farm at less than desirable prices.

rustyfarmall · Nov 26, 2011

(quoted from post at 08:44:04 11/26/11) I guess it's possible, but here in the midwest the competition is so fierce at most sales it is almost impossible to buy anything. Was talking to a scrapper I know at one sale I was to, and he said they were paying more than they could get out of it. He has the weight's of the items researched and said they would be lucky to make gas money let alone any profit. But maybe that is to impress people at the auction that they pay good, and then buy from them individually on the farm at less than desirable prices.

Same experience here. The scrappers will bid a worn out tandem disc up so high that a guy who just wants to salvage out the structural iron for future do-it-yourself projects doesn't stand a chance.

Most of the scrappers around here don't have any idea if they are actually making money, or how to figure the expenses involved in buying, prepping, and then selling a ton of scrap iron.

fixerupper · Nov 26, 2011

Rusty, you got that right.The scrappers I know all talk about how much money you can make cutting it up into short steel and how much money there is is scrap, but they themselves can't pay their bills. Jim

John - OH · Nov 26, 2011

I'm guessing as the others did he did not make a $8000.00 profit. He more likely sold what he bought for $8000. If its like the scrap guys around here by the time its said and done cutting it up hauling, etc there was little true profit to be had. On the the contrary, if he did turn an $8000 profit at one sale good for him he got lucky.

Lumpie · Nov 26, 2011

They can afford to bid stuff up at sales because they steal enough other stuff to still make money. All junkies are thieving sonsabeaches.

OLD HECTOR · Nov 26, 2011

Most farm sales up here the junk iron and old beat up equipment doesnt even get a bid on it so they call the scrap guy to come and get it for nothin..

1936 · Nov 26, 2011

Figured too draw fire from the grassy knob, but know one farmer is holding cash 12 grand from this guy and has some more to sell. Could not sell out right as units. Now mind you he gets 100 bucks ton more at the scale. Nuff said.

rrlund · Nov 26, 2011

Yep,the crusher is just 2 miles up the road from me. I hauled some old manure spreaders and a few other items in last month. Made over $3150 for a days hauling at $250 a ton.
A guy about a mile the other side of the crusher had an auction a year ago this spring. I'll bet 80% of his stuff ended up at the crusher,hauled in by somebody else AFTER he paid the auctioneers commission. There were scrappers there from as far away as Detroit,150 miles away.
He'd have been many,many dollars ahead if he and his two sons would have hauled the stuff in themselves and taken the few good pieces he had to a consignment sale. In fact,two of the items that I brought home,I bought from scrappers after the sale.
If I was going to quit farming,the bulk of my stuff would go right to the crusher. I'd take the tires and wheel and all the hydraulic cylinders and hoses off of all of it to a consignment auction.

Stevewatr · Nov 26, 2011

Most of the scrap metal guys running around are area with beat to hell pickup trucks are not "legit" . They are paid in casg at the scrap yards. I never met one who did not want the stuff for free. I had some guys going into the woods on the farm, and dragging out, by hand, junk we put out there 50 years ago. As soon as I found what they were up to, I went in the woods with my machines, and hauled out everything into a big pile near the house where I can keep an eyeball on it untill I feel like hauling it to the yard myself. They dragged a cast iron bath tub 500 yards before they gave up, and left it for me to find. THIEVES!

Anonymous-0 · Nov 26, 2011

Most of them around here are so high that they would not know profit from revenue ( not educated enough when they are sober to know the difference)

JDseller · Nov 26, 2011

A friend and I scrapped a lot of farm sale stuff in the 1980s. We each had a tandem trailer and torch. We would usually make a few thousand dollars profit at a larger farm sale. Here in north east Iowa there are not too many of those type of sales anymore. There are not many people that let their farms get that junked up any more. Plus Dubuque County has been zoned. If your place gets too bad you can get a ticket for it.

I guess there maybe a few places left that have them old treasure sales. I miss going to them to find things you never saw before. Plus watching some things going sky high for a pile of junk. I don't go to many sales any more. Most stuff is selling way higher than I would pay. Most of the consignment sales are just a gathering of equipment jockeys having a auction appraisal done. LOL

Scrappers

1936

Well-known Member

IaGary

Well-known Member

Fred.

New User

mark in boonville ny

Member

BigMarv1085

Member

dixon boy RL

Member

Nebraska Cowman

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

rustyfarmall

Well-known Member

fixerupper

Well-known Member

John - OH

Member

Lumpie

Member

OLD HECTOR

Member

1936

Well-known Member

rrlund

Well-known Member

Stevewatr

Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

JDseller

Well-known Member

Similar threads